Cardigans
by KittyCat809
Summary: Why Tadashi wears three layers of shirts. Rated T for slight child harm and intent. "That was the last good thing. Then came the fire."


I.

The night was cold when his mother came home with his little brother. He had been visiting her in the hospital, but he had to go back to his kindergarten class after his dad was required to go back to work. That's where he was when his mom came back with his brother. With Hiro.

o.o

When Hiro turned one, they had to move out of their house when their father lost his job. They moved to a smaller apartment where there was barely enough room to play. Soon after the move, their dad started drinking after the day jobs he picked up and their mother started working overtime. Tadashi was stuck watching Hiro most of the day at the age of five, while still learning most of what he should be learning in school online and through games. Soon enough though, Tadashi was beating all the educational games that were for younger kids and moved on to videos that would teach him how to build robots like his favorite toys.

o.o

When Tadashi was six years, four months and two weeks old was the first night his father hit his mom. He came home from a particularly hard day of having to move packages in from a store's truck in the pouring rain. Then the store owner had a fit that part of the product had gotten wet and cut pay from the company, causing the workers to be docked pay to near minimum which enraged him.

He staggered into the house with a six-pack in his hands, two of them missing and probably another empty one in the car, the smell of alcohol clearly on his breath. His work clothes were soaked and he looked as if he hadn't showered in a few days, despite the rain. Their mom ran from around the corner at the sound of the slamming door and a fight began in the front room, Tadashi peering from around the corner.

"Where the hell have you been? I had dinner ready an hour ago and you said you would be home early today!" His dad merely brushed off his wife and went into the kitchen, trailing water and traces of mud in the carpet. "Are you even listening to me?!" Their mom was near tears.

Suddenly he spun around, albeit not at all gracefully and nearly falling in the process, and in the shock of the moment, she stood there as he slapped her across the face. She fell to the ground and stayed there as he went into the kitchen to take a seat at the small table. Tadashi raced in as soon as his father left the room to help his mother up, but she brushed him off saying it was okay.

Just then Hiro started crying, the fighting haven woken him up from sleep. His mom pushed him towards his room and ushered him to stop the crying before it upset his father. Tadashi reluctantly left and comforted Hiro back to sleep, staring out to the living room where his mother was quickly cleaning the damage that his father had done. He closed the door softly and went to sleep with Hiro.

o.o

The months passed and the incident rarely came up in conversation and his father would apologize for the mistakes he made, but a few days later, the same scenario would happen, but this time it was less shouting from his mom and more from his father, but he wouldn't hit her anymore. The next day he would be apologizing and buying more of the toy robots that Hiro liked, before breaking them in the nights after.

o.o

The night Tadashi turned seven, his mom went out to buy the candles to put on the small cake she had made and decorated. She knew that he was old enough to keep the house in order while Hiro was busy watching a TV show and he could put the noodles in the boiling water for dinner. That was when his father came home.

He didn't come stumbling through the door as usual, but slammed the door in and then smashed it behind him. He seemed angry for some reason, but there was no intent in his voice, just anger. Tadashi quickly ran into the living room and dragged Hiro away from the TV with much complaint, but he quieted his brother with a toy robot that he had been taking apart, but never put back together. Locking his brother in their room, he went out to the kitchen where his dad sat at the table, belching loudly. The basket of fruit that usually sat on the counter was scattered on the floor, apples rolling under the chairs and a couple of bananas already forming brown spots.

He picked up as many as he could without disturbing his father but on accident he bumped into the chair and then quickly stood up and backed up to the counter hoping that his father hadn't felt it. But he had. The man stood up, more menacingly tall that he used to be and glared down at the little boy. His breath was nauseating and Tadashi could barely breath under that gaze. He backed up as far as he could in the small kitchen, but the pale yellow walls were closing in and his father kept on getting bigger. The shouting was getting louder, but no words were heard in his ears, only the roaring of that man's voice. It was pure anger. None of the love that had once been there remained.

Tadashi was aware of the tears, but he didn't think about them, all he thought about was his brother. Hiro needed him. He needed Hiro. That was the last good thing. Then came the fire.

o.o

It wasn't real fire. But it burned. The water boiling for dinner had barely been heated, but enough that it scalded his skin. It fell over his arm and back as he crouched on the ground trying to hide from the inevitable. He remembered shouting but his father kept on yelling at him and his voice was so sore that he stopped. He remembered suddenly smelling his mom's flowered shampoo, the pain being so blissfully gone. The feeling went away, the emptiness grew bright and then simply left. Darkness was all that remained. It was all that remained for a very long time.

o.o

When he woke up, Tadashi wished it was all a dream. That it would still be his birthday and he could blow out the candles, open his few presents that he received from family members and then maybe go to the mall to look around but not buy anything. The moment he took a breath, all of that changed. His chest hurt, his arm hurt and his body was so sore. A few more deep breaths to regain his thoughts and then he breathed softer, allowing his body to cooperate and stop shooting jolts of pain through his nervous system. He slowly sat up. He was wrapped up in a few gauze rolls, but most of his skin was a bright red that seemed like he had gotten a bad sunburn. Little did he know that would be his excuse for the next few months to anyone who would ask.

Hiro sat across the room from him and watched as he tried to get up, cringing in pain every time that he breathed too hard. When he finally was able to stand, his body was mostly in pain, but he could manage it. He could manage it for Hiro.

His mom came in the room a few moments later, her hands red and through the door he could see his dad laying on the couch, asleep even though the window spewed fresh daylight. When she felt his forehead and held his hands in hers, he could feel the rawness on her skin. She must've worked all night to help him, clean the house and fight his father. There were no more hand marks on her face but she was wearing a cardigan. She had been wearing a lot of those lately.

"It'll be okay Tadashi. You're going to get better and this will all be a memory pretty soon. Okay?" Tadashi nodded and his mom gave a small smile, kissed him on the forehead. "Happy Birthday my love." With that, she went quickly out of the room. Hiro slowly walked over to Tadashi's bed and sat next to him, neither one of them had to say a word. They sat like that for a very long time.

o.o

The time came when Tadashi's mom enrolled him into first grade. Hiro was placed into an early kindergarten class for 'gifted' children and that is where they stayed for most of the day and as late as they could before the teachers and aid began to call their mother to take them home. Eventually they just began walking everyday.

o.o

It was rather a sunny day when Tadashi's mother took his hand and told them that they would be back before the end of the day. His father had been nice lately, only drinking in small amounts and becoming less violent. The two of them had decided to go on a trip to celebrate their anniversary early since it was such a nice day. This left seven year old Tadashi to watch over Hiro as he played in the living room with his newest robot. He had managed to take it apart and put it back together and was now in the process of taking it apart in order to mix it's part with another robot that lay in pieces around his operations.

Tadashi sat with Hiro for a while before getting up to stretch his legs. He stopped in front of the bathroom and then entered, shutting the door behind him. There was a full length mirror on the back of the door that his mom had brought with them during the move. He took off his cardigan that his mom had complimented him on this morning, as she always did, and let it fall to the ground. Without looking into the mirror, he took off his shirt as well and then turned around. The lighting wasn't fair in the small bathroom, but there was a window on the opposite wall that let in a small amount of natural light. No matter the light though, he could still see the redness of his skin. It seemed that he still had an angry sunburn but in reality it had been months. Parts of his skin where there seemed to be bruises were simply places where the water had hit with more heat.

Tadashi closed his eyes tightly, wishing that he could make them disappear. All this pain was because of him, if he had just left the apples where they were. When he opened his eyes again, the red was still there and in addition, there were tears streaking down his face.

"Stop crying." He commanded his reflection. "Stop crying right now." The mirror complied after a few moments and it seemed to be over. "Now promise yourself. This will never happen to Hiro. Not to him. Not to anyone." He nodded to himself and then put back on his shirts, knowing that it would be alright.

"No more crying anymore. None at all." The empty mirror only echoed the message into the bathroom.

o.o

They spent the night in front of the TV and in Hiro's case, putting robots together and taking them apart again. Tadashi looked on with a smile. His brother was happy, so he was as well. Their parents hadn't made it home yet, and it was getting late, but maybe their dinner was taking longer than usual. Hiro cried out as he cut his finger on a metal piece and Tadashi turned his attention to his brother, making a much bigger deal than usual to distract his thoughts from wandering.

"Oh no, I think we're going to have to cut it off!"

"NO! I wont let you!" Hiro cried out, jumping up and running over to the other side of the living room, which wasn't that far away. Tadashi leaped up from his spot and chased after his short-legged brother, thankful for the small growth spurt he had achieve in the past few months.

"Well if we don't cut it off then its going to fall off just like my tooth!" Tadashi snicked and watched as Hiro froze in horror. He had been scared to death when Tadashi was pulling his teeth out of his mouth just a few months ago, and was even more terrified to find out that his would soon find out as well.

Tadashi took that moment to catch up with the boy and tackle him to the ground, pinning him beneath his knees. He picked up the boy's had and examined the wound then nodded. "It's going to have to be cut off. I should know. I'm going to be a doctor when I grow up." Hiro growled and fought against his older brother's weight, before Tadashi gave up and fell to the side, allowing his brother to scramble past his longer legs and sit on his chest proudly. Tadashi feigned struggle, Hiro laughing harder. He leaned over Tadashi's face and gathered spit in his mouth, letting it slowly leak towards his face.

"Ugh no, gross, get off!" Hiro smiled and let the drool slowly make its way towards his face. He was saved when suddenly there was a pounding on the front door. He sighed in relief but quickly made a disgusted sound when Hiro jumped off of him, the spit flying through the air and landing on his cheek next to his war.

"Their home! Mom and Dad are home!" Hiro raced to the door and Tadashi just rolled his eyes as he sat up and wiped his cheek on his sleeve. Hiro unlocked the door, standing on his tiptoes, only for it to open to two very large men in dark outfits. Tadashi immediately reacted, running to his brother and grabbing him in his arms, the men stepped in the doorway before he could slam the door shut and he took a step back.

"It's okay kid, we're the good guys." One man spoke in a growling voice, but not in an angry way. He took off his hat and held up his badge to show that he was a police officer. The other one knelt down on one knee and smiled. "Do you want to try on my hat?" He spoke again, this time to Hiro.

Hiro nodded eagerly and pushed against Tadashi, to get out of his arms and go to the officer. Tadashi reluctantly let go of his brother and watched carefully as he went over to the men. They laughed as the hat slipped over his eyes and he kept on readjusting it and trying to see from under it.

"Would you like to try it on as well Tadashi?" He spoke again.

"How do you know my name?" He pondered quietly to himself, and then he spoke loud enough for the men to hear him. "Why are you here? We didn't call the police. We learned in school that you only call the police if it's an emergency."

The man nodded and then his smile turned to a frown as he stood up off his knees. Hiro looked up at him, the hat falling down over his eyes again, his small laugh tinkling through the night air.

o.o

Tadashi was really confused about what was happening. The men made him and his brother sit at the kitchen table, but they still weren't saying anything. The two men just kept looking at each other and finally the older one, the one who still had his hat on, spoke up.

"Do you have any immediate family in the city?"

"Immediate?" Tadashi asked. "We have an aunt in SanFransokyo, but that's the closest anyone is to us. Everyone else lives really far away."

"Yeah! Really far away!" Hiro piped him, still wearing the police hat, one of his robot pieces on the table, that he was fiddling with. "But we cant go because we don't have no money for all of us."

Tadashi glared at his brother. "Hush Hiro." He turned to the officers and nodded. "It's pretty far any way you go. We don't see aunt Cass that much." He watched the men as they kept on exchanging glances between the two of them. "Why are you here? Why do you need to know about aunt Cass? I can call my mom on her emergency cell if you want. She hasn't been answering he phone so I think it's dead but she usually answers the emergency."

"Mr and Mrs Hamada," The older one started. "Your parents have-" He let out a sigh. "There's been an accident. They can't take care of you right now, so we need to call a relative."

Tadashi's world froze and his red skin seemed to prickle enough that it might just fall off of him. He moved on autopilot to the drawer that held all the phone numbers that never really got organized, just thrown in a drawer. Aunt Cass's was a piece of blue paper with a Lucky Cat symbol on the front, along with a tear going through the selection of donuts. She had written this for him when she visited a couple years back and Tadashi couldn't remember the number in case he wanted some donuts.

He handed the slip to the men and barely watched as one of them walked into the hall, phone already dialing. He stood without moving, afraid if he took a step that he would catch on fire, then again he already might be on fire. His skin seemed to be getting more red by the moment and he wondered how long it would be until the officer would ask if he had gotten sunburn.

Down by his feet was a small stain of water. The more he stared at it, the more that night came into his head. The entire floor was covered with water and dinner was ruined. Dry spaghetti was broken on the counter, where it then rolled to the ground and was crushed by moving feet. His screams broke out in the silence and yet louder than that was his breathing.

Somehow in the silence, he could hear the police officer in the hall talking to his aunt. He heard him say what happened. He heard the words that made the volcano his body seemed to contain, erupt. Hiro took no notice, too busy with building his robot with the hat to realize what was happening. Tadashi felt his heart stop breathing, his lungs stop working. Everything just seemed to go wrong. The only thing he could think to do was walk over to Hiro and hug him tightly, ignoring the sounds of protest. Nothing would ever be the same.

o.o

When aunt Cass came, they had already packed everything that needed to be packed and Hiro was still confused to what was happening. Tadashi put on his biggest smile and told him that everything was going to be fun because they were going on a vacation. Hiro had gotten excited and packed all of his robots, leaving Tadashi to pack all his clothes which was fine because it gave him time to think.

His skin prickled as many people filed in and out of his house, giving him hugs and asking him is he was okay, kissing Hiro just because he was adorable. He hid his red skin under his favorite cardigan and a mask of calm.

When it came to the plane ride, he only closed his eyes, wishing for it to be everlasting. Up here no one would question him about if his dad had drinking problems or if he usually drove drunk or if he usually drove straight or had any medication problems. If his dad hit his mom or if they were a happy family. No one questioned the clouds why they were there or why they made the shapes they did. Up here, the questions weren't a problem. Up here the questions went unanswered and somehow everything went on without a problem. If only he would stay up here forever.

He peered out the window over the sleeping body of Hiro to see SanFransokyo taking shape in the distance. The clouds would have to keep his secrets for him now.

 **A/N: Hey guys so this came to me somehow about Tadashi being abused when my friend pointed out that he basically wears three layers of shirts. Any ideas on how I could continue would be awesome if you all want another chapter. Any critique is appreciated! Have a fantastic day!**


End file.
